Theuns Janse van Rensburg

Theuns Janse van Rensburg (1935 - 2007)

Brief overview:

Theuns (72), and his wife Hettie (70), were brutally attacked and tortured their house on Seventh Street in Naboomspruit/Mookgophong on 3rd December 2007.

The perpetrators, Zimbabweans Brian Ncube (25) (who has been involved in a number of attacks whilst out on bail) and Tapiswa Moyo, spent time torturing the couple. Theuns was repeatedly hacked with a panga (machete), until he lost consciousness, then the attackers removed his clothes and lay him on the bed. One of the perpetrators lay next to him and watched television.

Hettie tried to fight back, and the attackers cut off four of her finger tips on her left hand with a pair of garden shears, and broke her right arm.

Martin Schmidt, who lives close by, made the gruesome discovery about 07:00. "Hettie called and asked me to help, because her husband was dead." he said. "There was blood everywhere. It looked as if someone had slaughtered a cow. To my surprise, Theuns moved and I saw he was still alive."

Hettie remembered only one man attacking them, but on Monday morning three men who worked at Janse van Rensburg snr's gardening service were taken in for questioning by the police.

Janse van Rensburg, who had suffered extensive injuries, including a cracked skull, was moved to Unitas Hospital in Centurion by helicopter on Monday morning, where he died from his injuries.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • The attackers fled about 04:00 on Monday, after stealing bank cards, money, a TV set, a DVD player and a hi-fi set.
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
  • Ncube had assaulted the couple so viciously that Theuns never regained consciousness and died in hospital.
  • He also cut off Mrs J van Rensburg’s fingertips with gardening shears. She has never recovered fully from the trauma, and was unable to attend her husband’s funeral. She now lives in a care-home in the Cape region.

Additional Biographical Information:

• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
  • Community members captured Ncube within two days of the murderous assault on the elderly couple
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • During the killers court appearance, one suspect said, "I didn't want to kill him. I only wanted to hurt him because he had hit me."
  • 26th June 2009: "Brian Ncube (25), was found guilty of murdering Theuns, and viciously assaulting his wife Hettie, on 2 December 2008, has been given a life sentence in prison. This means that he will be eligible for parole within 15 years.
  • Ncube twice attempted to escape in July last year during an appearance in court.

Links to Media articles:

• https://web.archive.org/web/20090627212412/http://jv.news24.com/Bee...
• https://web.archive.org/web/20071204175932/http://www.news24.com/Ne...
• http://archive.is/l00K5
• https://web.archive.org/web/20071204174453/http://www.news24.com/Be...
• https://web.archive.org/web/20080107103930/http://www.news24.com/Be...
• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000187654885842